Our Approach
M.I.N.E. is a novel concept and opportunity. Our core belief is that individuals will feel stronger, and act with greater strength, if they get stronger through participation in strength training.
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Said simply, Muscle Inspires New Empowerment.
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M.I.N.E. offers itself as a new tool for survivors emerging from the silence and isolation of gender-related violence, including physical, emotional, domestic abuse, sex trafficking and exploitation.
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In collaboration with Sanctuary for Families, a leading service provider for the survivor community, the creators of M.I.N.E. have come to see how strength training can help survivors regain agency over their bodies, fortifying themselves physically and emotionally, all while building and participating in a robust and supportive community.
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Our program is unique in that it places the knowledge of weight lifting in the participants’ hands. Departing from the traditional paradigm of a participant working indefinitely with a private coach or trainer, our 9-week/ 18-hour program teaches individuals how to conduct their own weight lifting sessions.
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This independence is important not only for building self-sufficiency but also because it creates a wholly new opportunity for low-income clients to learn to lift weights safely and correctly.
Our contracted, trauma-sensitive trainers use private or semi-private sessions to share their knowledge so that clients become active participants in the creation of their own programs; survivors will recognize this dynamic as “sharing power.”
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Working slowly and carefully, each client masters the ability to conduct a full-body workout routine using minimal equipment. Upon graduation from our program, our low-income participants retain access to a gym space, free of charge, for one year.
Together we will build a community where solidarity means growth and change.
Meet The Team
Our team has over 60 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. We have worked at many fitness levels with those who live in different communities. We understand how knowledge of self-care and access to a training facility should be a right for all, not limited to the few with access and means.
Knowledge of self-care and access to a training facility should be a right for all, and not limited to those with access and means.
Our Mission
Empowering survivors of gender-based violence to regain agency over their bodies and minds through strength training.
Our Vision
We believe that weightlifting can help survivors:
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Regain agency over their bodies
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Reinforce a positive association with their bodies
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Serve as a cornerstone to good health
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Participate in a health-minded community
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Inspire positive changes in their own lives and that of others